What is a seekh kebab?
Seekh Kebab is a popular Indian appetizer typically eaten with a side of green chutney. These flavorful bites of ground lamb or beef are made with freshly ground whole spices. Traditionally, they’re made in a tandoor (a large clay oven), but when you’re making them at home, the grill is the way to go.
“Seekh” means rods or “skewers.” In most places, seekh is pronounced seek… like, hide and go seek kebab. Seriously, go seek kebab because it’s good. Bahaha – maybe it should be hide and go eat seekh kebabs, so you don’t have to share 😉 Alright, alright – I’m done. Thanks for sticking through that… now, onto the meaty stuff.
Seekh kebabs can be made with any ground meat – chicken, goat, lamb, or beef. You have to finely mince the meat in a food processor, combine it with all of the spices and then wrap the meat onto skewers. After that, heat the grill!
This kebab is similar to the shami kebab, which is also made of minced meat. Like my shami kebab and malai kofta recipes, this seekh kebab is part of Mughlai cuisine (dishes brought to India from Persia and Afghanistan by Mughal rulers).
Prep these skewers in advance, so that they’re ready when you’re ready to grill. I’ll sometimes eat these kebabs right off the skewer (like a corndog). You can also slice them up and serve them with plain basmati rice and a side of grilled veggies with grilled lemons for squeezing. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 lb ground meat I used lamb
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 thai bird chili minced
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbs freshly chopped mint
- 1 tbs freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 tbs ghee plus extra to grease your hands
Instructions
- Add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and black peppercorns to a spice grinder and freshly grind. Set aside.
- In a food processor, add the onion and mince. Place the minced onion on a big paper towel (the towel will help absorb some of the water that’s released from the onion). Set aside for now.
- Next, add the ground meat to the food processor.
- In a bowl, combine minced meat, garlic, ginger, thai bird chili, freshly ground spices, salt, cilantro, mint and ghee.
- Mix in the onions.
- Grease your hands with a little ghee, grab a handful of meat and roll it into the shape of a sausage – slide in skewer.
- Turn your grill on and cook over medium heat until no longer pink.
- Serve with grilled vegetables.
Erika says
So we use this recipe to make “chapatis” that an Indian friend used to make for us. Make these kebabs, and then put them in a tortilla (or chapatis, if you’ve got them!), lemon juice, onions, cilantro, optional sriracha. My family goes crazy whenever I make this.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Erika, that’s so great to hear! I’m glad your family loves this 🙂
Erika says
My whole family loves this recipe—thank you!
Really easy to do.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Erika, I’m so glad to hear that 🙂 Thank you.
Lia says
Hi Ashley
Your recipe was so good.Thanks a lot!!!!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Lia! Glad you liked it 🙂
EMY says
Hi Ashley
Your recipe was so good I tried it .It came so good Thanks a lot!!!!
My Heart Beets says
I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Nita says
Hi Ashley.
I bought ground lamb packet from store…do I still absolutely need to grind it in food processor?
I am just a little finicky with meat in my plastic food processor. Can I skip it without affecting anything?
Plan to make this tomorrow.
Thanks.
Amrita says
Hi Ashley, instead of grilling, can I cook it in an oven? If so, at what temperature and for how long?
Saloni says
Hi Ashley, thank you so much for your wonderful website. It’s been such a resource to me on my Whole30 journey since 2016. Your recipes allow me to incorporate the Punjabi flavours I grew up with into my Whole30 lifestyle, and that’s so precious. THANK YOU! Much love from India.
My Heart Beets says
Thank you, Saloni!! I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes 🙂
Tulsey says
Hi Ashley
I loved it and made it according to your recipe but I used lean chicken. The meat kept falling from the sheek. I ended up doing it on the stove top. Why was it not keeping its shape on the sheek?
Saloni says
It works for me with chicken too….
My Heart Beets says
Awesome! Thanks Saloni!
Mugdha says
Tried this recipe today with lamb. It turned out amazing.. just delicious. I am not a big fan of lamb myself and this was the first time I cooked lamb at home. This is my new favorite dish now. I made them on George foreman grill and they turned out juicy and charred. I also made them low FODMAP by skipping garlic and using green onion instead of white onion. Thanks for sharing!!
My Heart Beets says
Mugdha, I’m so happy to hear that you liked the seek kebab! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂